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Martin Clunes opened up about the ‘chilling’ archive footage he watched of Huw Edwards ahead of a new drama – and the standout moment that haunted him.
The actor, 64, portrays Edwards, 64, in Channel 5‘s Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, depicting how the former BBC news presenter became the centre of a grooming scandal.
In July 2024, Edwards, who presented the BBC’s News at Ten for decades and broke some of the biggest stories including the death of Queen Elizabeth II, pled guilty to making indecent images of children.
A synopsis for the series reads: ‘The drama explores the story of how a vulnerable 17-year-old was groomed by one of the most powerful figures in television – Huw Edwards.
‘Starring Martin Clunes as Edwards, the series explores the newsreader’s double life as it spirals out of control, leading him to make the greatest announcement of his career – his total exit from public life following his conviction for serious child sexual offences.
‘Edwards had a secret. Online, he was repeatedly soliciting explicit sexual photos from young men, and in particular grooming a vulnerable 17-year-old.
Martin Clunes, 64, portrays Edwards, 64, in Channel 5’s Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards – and revealed archive footage he watched in preparation
Edwards, who presented the BBC’s News at Ten for decades, plead guilty in July 2024, to making indecent images of children in July 2024
‘He had also struck up a separate online friendship with a man who, from December 2020 to August 2021, repeatedly sent him messages containing child abuse imagery which he accessed, including so called ‘Category A’ images – the most extreme.’
A trailer and first look images have each given viewers an insight into the Doc Martin star’s transformation into the former newsreader.
Meanwhile, Martin spoke to The Times about his preparation for the role, explaining he watched footage of Edwards outside the newsroom – noting ‘we’ve seen that Huw Edwards’.
He elaborated: ‘Little snippets of him at awards ceremonies or when he was off duty, to see how he rolled. He’s a tiny bit more Welsh when he’s not reading the news.’
This, in turn, led to the actor discovering a moment of footage that he branded as ‘chilling’ .
Martin shared: ‘One of the archive bits I watched was an outside broadcast.
‘He’s outside Number 10 at night in a coat, and he’s just texting, waiting to go live, which I found chilling in light of what we know,.’
The new Channel 5 drama depicts how the former BBC news presenter became the centre of a grooming scandal
In further research for the role, Martin also reached out to Edwards’ former colleagues.
He remarked: ‘I don’t want to be drawn into slagging Huw Edwards off, because I don’t see that as my role. But I didn’t hear any compliments.’
The cast also includes Osian Morgan, who stars as the teenager at the centre of the initial allegations.
Ben Bishop and Clare Calbraith respectively portray The Sun’s news editor Ben O’Driscoll and editor Victoria Newton.
Joining them is Chanel Crosswell, playing the role of reporter Scarlet Howes.
Meanwhile, a former BBC boss issued Channel 5 a stern warning, speculating that their new drama about Edwards ‘will rapidly run into legal problems’.
Roger Mosey, who previously headed up BBC TV News, admitted he felt the series was ‘very risky’ – instead noting a ‘documentary approach’ would have been safer.
Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards will air on March 24 on Channel 5 and its streaming service My5.
